In this 2021 interview with ARTS TALK TV, Tapatak Oz creator Christine Denny discusses the role the arts plays in our lives and communities and the joy of teaching as a career
Tapatak Oz’s creator is Christine Denny. Her tap career has spanned over 25 years and taken her into every facet of tap including:
• Teacher: Christine was a founding tap teacher at the famous Brent St Studios in Sydney, where she taught for over 8 years alongside the country’s most prestigious dance teachers. She also had 6 years with ED5 International, as well as guest master classes all over Australia for the past 26 years.
• Performer: Christine has performed with her company Rhythm Works Oz all over Sydney and has also performed as a guest faculty member with the Australian Tap Festival in 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. A highlight of her career was performing in Dein Perry’s famous “Eternity Tap Segment” in the Opening Ceremony of the Sydney Olympics and also working on the sound recording of this event in 2000.
• Journalist: Christine had a regular column called Let’s Talk Tap for Australia’s favourite print dance magazine Dance Train. Highlights of this was interviewing the famous American Tap Legend Brenda Buffalino as well as Aussie greats like Dein Perry from the Tap Dogs and Chris Horsey from Hot Shoe Shuffle. She also was a regular writer for DanceLife and did an interview series for them called “ On the Couch with Christine”, where she chatted with industry legends about their lives and projects.
• Choreographer: As a choreographer Christine’s work spans the past 25 years and the entire East Coast of Australia, being a regular guest artist to create tap works for dance school competitions and graduations all over the country. She has also choreographed for Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts in the UK, where she did her tertiary study.
• Adjudicator: In demand as an adjudicator, Christine as adjudicated the famous City of Sydney McDonald’s Performing Arts Challenge many times. She also judges regularly on the panel at the Charity Event – The Kids Express Dance Challenge and has worked as a judge for DanceLife Unite. Other stints as an adjudicator have been in Brisbane, The Gold Coast, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Launceston, Wyong, Redcliffe, The Sunshine Coast, Nowra and many others.
• Director: As a director Christine has worked on gigs with Rhythm Works Oz for Commonwealth Bank, Isuzu and many outdoor festivals around Sydney.
There is a huge difference between performing and teaching. And that’s where the strength of this syllabus lies. It was created by Christine Denny, an experienced tap teacher – for tap teachers.
Your staff will get the benefit of this experience as they go through the videos and enjoy all those ‘nuggets of gold’ on how to teach the work. Being an experienced tap teacher, Christine anticipates common problems that arise and shows you how to deal with them.
“Tapatak is going great at All That Jazz. We have nearly our whole school doing the classes now. My jun/ adv kiddies just love it. There is just so much to learn in each grade. Keeps us going. I’m just loving it. Thanks again for providing such a wonderful tap program.”
“Good morning. Well let’s just say the muscles are slightly killing me! Tapatak Oz is going really well and the kids are really enjoying themselves. You’ve put together a wonderful syllabus and my little girl just loves watching Miss Christine on the TV at home.”
“I love the focus on technique, rhythm and the use of accent, whilst also encouraging individuality and improvisation. It’s such a unique and effective approach. The children love it and the syllabus has made me a better teacher and choreographer.”
“The more exercises I learn the more fun it gets. I love this syllabus – how you can make it your own style as well. Your videos are so informative and make it so much easier to explain to the children how to do the steps. So Thank you – I love Tapatak Oz !”